Chicken and Squash Wild Rice Casserole
This Chicken and Squash Wild Rice Casserole is the perfect blend of seasonal flavors you need on your table this fall and winter! Savory spices, sweet butternut squash, tart cranberries, nutty parmesan cheese and hearty chicken and wild rice make for a filling and super flavorful dish. If those ingredients are making your mouth water (and how could they not?), go make your grocery list now – you need to make this! I like to pair this with a side salad, and it’s perfect to serve company or for dinner at home with your family. This casserole would also be great with turkey breast, so if you have turkey leftovers after Thanksgiving, consider skipping the chicken step and using that instead. Not only is this recipe hearty and satisfying with all the flavors you crave, a serving is just 378 calories or 6 WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
I adapted this recipe from Well Plated, which is another really great recipe blog you should check out. I was drooling over her recipe but just couldn’t help making it my own with a few adjustments. Shout out for the inspiration!
Looking for more craveable lightened-up casserole recipes like this Chicken and Squash Wild Rice Casserole? Check out my One-Pot Spicy Dirty Rice with Chicken and Sausage, Spinach and Chicken Phyllo Bake, Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Chickpea Bake, Bubble Up BBQ Chicken and Beans Bake, Meat and Potatoes Bake, Cottage Pie, Bubble Up Chicken Alfredo Bake, One-Pot Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti Bake, Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Potato Bake, Layered Chicken Enchilada Bake, Chili Cornbread Bake, Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Casserole, Eggplant Parmesan Casserole, Bubble Up Chicken Pot Pie Casserole, Chicken Parmesan Quinoa Bake, Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole, Bubble Up Pizza Casserole, Deep Dish Sloppy Joe Casserole and more in the Casseroles section of my recipe index!
Chicken and Squash Wild Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry unseasoned wild rice blend
- 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 large rib of celery, diced
- 20 oz peeled and cubed butternut squash, cut into ½” cubes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- 2/3 cup fresh cranberries
- ¼ cup reduced sodium fat free chicken broth
- 2 oz freshly finely shredded parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
- Cook the rice in water or broth according to package instructions (I used a rice cooker) and set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Drizzle 1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil in a large saute pan or deep skillet and bring over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chopped chicken and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Stir to coat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken pieces are cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken to a side plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. When the oil is hot, add the onions, celery, butternut squash, salt and pepper and stir together. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until the onions begin to soften. Cover the pan and continue to cook for around 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is mostly tender.
- Uncover the pan and stir in the cooked rice, reserved chicken, thyme, marjoram, cranberries, broth and half of the shredded parmesan until combined. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and spread out evenly. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the top and bake for 25 minutes.
Notes
378 calories, 35 g carbs, 4 g sugars, 12 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 34 g protein, 5 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com) MyWW SmartPoints per (1 & 1/3 cups) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 6 SmartPoints/ Purple: 3 SmartPoints Weight Watchers Points Plus:
10 per (1 & 1/3 cups) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers brand PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition information below) Adapted from Well Plated
I KNOW I’m going to love this! Thank you! Oh, and when you say 20 oz squash, is that the weight AFTER it’s peeled and diced?
After!
This was absolutely amazing, it is definitely going into my fall/winter rotation. I loved the tart of the cranberries, but next time I make it, I’m going to rough chop them, so that I get the tartness isn’t quite so concentrated.
Also loved this! Wendy: Thanks for commenting! I read ahead and used my slapchop to dice the cranberries and actually used 1 full cup (added 1/3 additional for topping) and it was fantastic!
Perfect Fall make-ahead lunch for this week! Pre-cut squash saved a lot of time. I added extra veggies and mushrooms to the mix too! It didnt stay together like a regular casserole, but the flavor is spot on!
I love this recipe as written . I am going to try omitting the chicken and bringing it as a side to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks as always for tasty, healthy recipes. 🙂
Can you use cranrasins instead?
By it’s looks, I was not sure I was going to like this one, but I was thoroughly surprised. I really liked it. My husband didn’t eat much saying he has never been a fan of wild rice. So if and when I make this again, I may switch the rice out for long-grain white rice. I added only half the cranberries because I was afraid the family wouldn’t like them and on top of that, you can’t find fresh cranberries this time of year… so I used low-sugar craisins. Which I liked. I’ll use those again next time. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I really enjoyed this recipe, filling and delicious! I thought we had marjoram but we didn’t so I subbed sage and oregano, and I also subbed craisins. My suggestion if you’re going to use craisins, add some lemon to brighten the dish and bring out the cranberry flavor. Definitely going to keep this one in rotation. Thank you Emily!